Just spent nearly a million quid on a new garage for the Maserati and it wouldn't fit..............

[Phil the Brit]

Well when we sold our two Florida homes 4 years ago we wanted to buy one final villa, that would "wash its face" rental wise but more importantly be somewhere where we would want to go to forever/semi retire to. (this years rental season is killed of course) We looked all over Europe for our final property, but eventually decided on Menorca- Just two hours away cheap flights, and very different to neighbouring Mallorca /Ibiza (no loud bars/drunken brits etc.) Picked this up from an elderly Brit couple who had owned it from new, for not much more than £400,000 needed a lot doing to it, put about 50k into it to bring it up to scratch ..........think it will be a safe investment long term due to its seafront location..
Property on Menorca is 20% cheaper than Mallorca/Ibiza- I think its a much nicer , quieter island....

That is beautiful

 

[Team GCR]

We would probably let 'Pete the sheep' use the land as we have enough already for the sheep we have... and they are a handful already.

He is the most generous man I have ever met; brings us free venison, lamb, pheasant and logs every other month and always refuses anything in return.

Our worry is people buying it and then putting tents or their VW camper on there at weekends as a cheep holiday home.

Such a lovely view and needs to stay like that... hopefully our offer of full asking price will secure it, dont want to spend over £85k and use up all my savings.

View attachment 69762

That is a beautiful view, I can see why you would want to protect it. Our neighbour isn't as good as yours but we have a decent working relationship with him and he prefers us to the people we bought the house from as we understand his sheep are not 'pets'. There is community round here even though we are isolated, a few days into lockdown our freezer packed up, I mentioned it on Facebook and a farmer six miles away gave us a spare freezer to get us by.

I took the picture below yesterday evening because of the double rainbow (the second one had faded a bit by the time I got my phone) from the verandah at the front of the house, gives you an idea of the view we enjoy and was a major reason for buying the house.

Hello, I live in London, am I welcome here...?

However, we're in Zone 3, so have a terraced house and a garden. I feel we've plenty of living space for the two of us. However...NO GARAGE! Parking cars on the road is just something I have to live with.

There's been a fair bit of commentary on this thread regarding not understanding why you'd want to live in London, the prices etc.

Having been brought up in Herts in a rather lovely and green area, I would prefer not to live there now.

We go to some lovely villages on the weekend, quaint and beautiful. I initially think, "oh wouldn't it be lovely to live here" but then I think...

"what would I do if I lived in the countryside"

So what do you do?

Totally understand where you are coming from, my parents moved from the country to central London (N1) in 1976 when I was 7, we were lucky that the London house was in a cobbled cul de sac overlooking a small park, I bought my house in Northants in 1995 but still worked in London till 2009 and could still stay in N1 if wanted a night out. I do miss the restaurants etc.,.. but not enough to want to live in London again.

There's lots to do here as we are still renovating the house, restoring the vegetable garden etc.,.. and one of the reasons for buying such a big house (10 beds) was to do boutique style B & B so the house generates an income, so we get to meet lots of interesting people.

Sometimes I do wonder if this part of the world is too rural for me but at the end of the day we could always flip this house when its done especially if we don't get permission to build a garage/barn for the cars etc.,.. but I would still buy another rural property, just one slightly closer to things I want to do.

 

[Andy Marshall]

V12 ...... Just love love it....

Yes, a V12 S to be precise And it is wonderful. Very different to the Granturismo it replaced, (4.7S with Larini back boxes - amaaaaaaaazing sound) and a real step up in performance. It's the only car I have ever owned that, 18 months later, I am still not accustomed to just how fast it is!
That being said, hard to beat the Maserati Spyder on a sunny day, with a nice empty Peak District B road and that V8 howling to 7k rpm

 

[Felonious Crud]

Yes, a V12 S to be precise And it is wonderful. Very different to the Granturismo it replaced, (4.7S with Larini back boxes - amaaaaaaaazing sound) and a real step up in performance. It's the only car I have ever owned that, 18 months later, I am still not accustomed to just how fast it is!
That being said, hard to beat the Maserati Spyder on a sunny day, with a nice empty Peak District B road and that V8 howling to 7k rpm

We went the same route, Andy, and same general impressions as well. I’d love mine as a roadster, but simply don’t like the look of the Vantage roadster with the roof up. Down they look great.

 

[bigbob]

We went the same route, Andy, and same general impressions as well. I’d love mine as a roadster, but simply don’t like the look of the Vantage roadster with the roof up. Down they look great.

That’s easily fixed, just buy one of Elon Musk’s houses he has put up for sale and move to California.

 

[Davidt99]

I grew up in Harpenden in the 1970's and 80's and ended up working in London for 5 years. Harpenden was a great place to live and grow up in but insanely expensive to buy any property. I hated every minute of my 5 years in London. Thankfully, 34 years later, I now live in the middle of no where in Cumbria, amongst some of the most stunning countryside you can ever imagine, surrounded by 7 sheep farms . My nearest Sainsburys or Morrisons is 22 miles away and not a lot in between. But do you know what, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I agree with you, each to their own but when I used to visit London for business on a pretty frequent basis,TBH I couldnt wait to leave. When I used to see Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland Fells on my way back up north, before getting off the train at Oxenholme, it always lifted my spirits, whatever the weather! It is "gods own country' and I wouldnt give it up for anything.....

I moved to Harpenden on 1985 and still live here. My wife was born in Harpenden and apart from a very short period in Hitchen has lived nowhere else (she was born in The Red House). Great place to live but is now too busy for us and as you say insanely expensive to buy property.

 

[Andyk]

Yes, a V12 S to be precise And it is wonderful. Very different to the Granturismo it replaced, (4.7S with Larini back boxes - amaaaaaaaazing sound) and a real step up in performance. It's the only car I have ever owned that, 18 months later, I am still not accustomed to just how fast it is!
That being said, hard to beat the Maserati Spyder on a sunny day, with a nice empty Peak District B road and that V8 howling to 7k rpm

Maybe a V12S Roadster with that power upgrade for those sunny days. Dick Lovett had a yellow one started it up in the showroom. My wife jumped out of her skin. Glorious.

 

[Gazcw]

We (well me really) wanted to move recently to a new house which had an integral double garage.
Found a house that fitted the bill, before making an offer, I carefully measured the door width and made 100% sure the GT would fit width wise through the door (It has twin doors) Fine with 2 inches to spare either side (with mirrors folded in)
Offer accepted, moved in, put the Maserati in for the first time (it fitted lengthways JUST, it is a huge car) but horror! Berkeley homes had built the garage with the main house drainage pipe and a half wall right where the car door would open. The car fitted in but I could not get out (or in) Jeez. In desperation (rather than move house again) I hacked off the boxing around the drainage pipe which means I can now just squeeze the car in the garage AND exit it....... Everyone now happy- wife has her new house and I have a nice garage complete with a power point for the mandatory C-Tek and dehumidifier to stop the subframe turning to dust overnight...View attachment 62541View attachment 62542

Everytime I read the title to this thread I just think should have spent 2 tight wad.

 

[Doctor Houx]

I moved to Harpenden on 1985 and still live here. My wife was born in Harpenden and apart from a very short period in Hitchen has lived nowhere else (she was born in The Red House). Great place to live but is now too busy for us and as you say insanely expensive to buy property.

Lived on East Common in the 90’s and one of the most lovely and happy places I’ve lived in the U.K., and I’ve lived in over 15 from Home Counties to Yorkshire and now Norfolk.

Moved to Bishops Stortford in 1999 as I thought prices were insane in Harpenden then, let alone now. Would be one place I would consider moving back to when we have to downsize when current place becomes too hard to look after. You are blessed living there!

 

[Silvercat]

I moved to Harpenden on 1985 and still live here. My wife was born in Harpenden and apart from a very short period in Hitchen has lived nowhere else (she was born in The Red House). Great place to live but is now too busy for us and as you say insanely expensive to buy property.

I moved to Harpenden in 1968 from Cumbria ( aged 6) , grew up there through the 70's and early 80's. ( went to St Georges school) Lived in Bedfordshire for a while because Harpenden was so expensive, then got a job move and ended up in Cheshire. There for 20 years before moving up to Cumbria...so have gone full circle.

 

[lifes2short]

Now a nice Classic Car meet up maybe.

or for a car boot sale, you can use greenfield land for various uses, 14 to 28 days within a calendar year without formal planning permission, car boot sale, motor racing, car shows etc

 

[rivarama]

Hello, I live in London, am I welcome here...?

However, we're in Zone 3, so have a terraced house and a garden. I feel we've plenty of living space for the two of us. However...NO GARAGE! Parking cars on the road is just something I have to live with.

There's been a fair bit of commentary on this thread regarding not understanding why you'd want to live in London, the prices etc.

Having been brought up in Herts in a rather lovely and green area, I would prefer not to live there now.

We go to some lovely villages on the weekend, quaint and beautiful. I initially think, "oh wouldn't it be lovely to live here" but then I think...

"what would I do if I lived in the countryside"

So what do you do?


Not so long ago, due to a house refurb, for almost 1 Year we lived at my parents in Herts, and my in-laws in Surrey. It gave us a taste of what living outside of London whilst attempting to enjoy our current way of life. In short, it didn't work.

Yes you can get trains that take 35mins, BUT

• from a particular station in London, where you might not be
• unless trains go every 10mins, otherwise you have to plan when to leave to not miss your train.
• unless you live nextdoor to the station (which would make living in the countryside a little pointless) you then have a journey the other end

all of which, results in the journey actually being quite long. Also, half the time it's a taxi home, when slightly worse for wear!

I can't change my job. Well I could, but I wouldn't earn as much as I earn in London. That's the nature of my industry. That's what pays for the car...

Our current lifestyle is going out probably 4 nights a week on average. London is great for that.

I think I'd get bored sat in my country pile. Horses for courses I guess.

We lived in London for over 10years and loved it for the first 7/8. Despite living in a big 5 bedroom house at the border between zone 1&2, we grew tired of the city and when our kids got to reception age, we moved out.
We landed in a little hamlet part of Rickmansworth, 10min walk from the station (1min by car), with plenty of parking, a Waitrose by the train station which allows you to pick up grocery on the way home, Metropolitan or Chiltren line available, get you to Baker Street in 25min or kings cross in 40.
Mayfair in a 50min drive and Hampstead a 30min drive on Friday night.
We’re 20-30min away from Heathrow and Luton depending the time a day.
We haven’t missed living in London at all since we left 2 years ago - and still hit the city once a week at least.

 

[rockits]

or for a car boot sale, you can use greenfield land for various uses, 14 to 28 days within a calendar year without formal planning permission, car boot sale, motor racing, car shows etc

Maybe a use for my little plot of land then.

Maybe car meet, BBQ and camp over

 

[Wattie]

I moved to Harpenden on 1985 and still live here. My wife was born in Harpenden and apart from a very short period in Hitchen has lived nowhere else (she was born in The Red House). Great place to live but is now too busy for us and as you say insanely expensive to buy property.

I lived there for 5 years too in the mid 80's, great place, St James Rd was all I could afford back then. I have very fond memories, both my first kids were born in Hemel. Played for the Rose and Crown at the weekends

 

[Davidt99]

I lived there for 5 years too in the mid 80's, great place, St James Rd was all I could afford back then. I have very fond memories, both my first kids were born in Hemel. Played for the Rose and Crown at the weekends

Not many could afford St. James Road now although Harpenden houses under about £1m tend to sell fairly quickly.

 

[safrane]

Lived in some lovely places in central London; St Catherines Docks, Kensington and St Johns Wood. Fortunately all paid by HM Gov.
Did it for six years but would not repeat... crine, violence, polution, noise, and most of all how unfriendly it is. Don't get me wrong I knew all my neighbours and local shop and cafés/restaurants staff... but no one smiles or exchanges a kind word.

 

[Silvercat]

I lived there for 5 years too in the mid 80's, great place, St James Rd was all I could afford back then. I have very fond memories, both my first kids were born in Hemel. Played for the Rose and Crown at the weekends

What a small world! Remember The Old Cock inn ( my brother used to be a barman there), The Silver Cup ( my favourite) , The George ( met my missus there) , The White Lion ( now a shop) etc.. happy days. In the early 1970's I used to have a paperound at the station newsagent and I remember riding down the station approach af 6.30am past Akroyds bakery ( remember it?) across the road by the bridge and smelling the freshly baked bread...heaven! I also had a summer job at Rothampstead Agrilcultural research station for 3 years while at Uni. A great place grow up in..

 

[Wattie]

What a small world! Remember The Old Cock inn ( my brother used to be a barman there), The Silver Cup ( my favourite) , The George ( met my missus there) , The White Lion ( now a shop) etc.. happy days. In the early 1970's I used to have a paperound at the station newsagent and I remember riding down the station approach af 6.30am past Akroyds bakery ( remember it?) across the road by the bridge and smelling the freshly baked bread...heaven! I also had a summer job at Rothampstead Agrilcultural research station for 3 years while at Uni. A great place grow up in..

I remember the George but cant recall the rest. Great little place. There was an Indian by the railway bridge by the station when I was a there and a very good Szechuan takeaway at the other end of the village at the bottom of the hill, near a garage/tyre dealer.
Neil Simms sold me my house...estate agent near the little triangle in the middle.

 

[Davidt99]

Do you guys ever go to Harpenden Classics on the Common? The event is held every July (probably not this year though). The downside is it is held on a Wednesday but the upside is it is a huge event with hundreds of cars and bikes.

 

[Silvercat]

Do you guys ever go to Harpenden Classics on the Common? The event is held every July (probably not this year though). The downside is it is held on a Wednesday but the upside is it is a huge event with hundreds of cars and bikes.

Not been TBH. St Georges school have an Old Georgians event every summer but not managed to get to one yet primarily because it's one **** of a trek from deepest Cumbria.